Meet The Business...
  
     
  Hector Gonzalez (Trumpet, Percussion, Vocals, Horn Arrangements), a Chicago native and the leader of The Business, began playing the trumpet by ear at the age of nine. He later studied at the American Conservatory of Music under famous composer Frank Mantooth and arranger Greg Shearer. Hector has since developed into a versatile musician and song writer. Hector was a 1st call trumpet player for studios such as Studio Media, Soto Sound, Streeterville Studios, and Pumpkin Studios. Hector toured extensively throughout the United States and internationally, opening for such artists as Tower of Power, The Association, The Ides of March, Malo, and Tito Nieves. He also played in the backup band for Sly Stone.
     
  Wendy Barbieri (Vocals) is an award winning song writer and a classically trained violinist who won several Superior Rating awards at state competitions. When she retired her violin, Wendy turned to her true passion . . . musical theatre. It was then that she was asked to join a popular Midwest social band. During that time, she began occasional sit-ins with The Business until she became a permanent member in 2004. Since joining The Business, Wendy has worked extensively in the studio, continued her song writing, and has performed for celebrities, Presidents, and has built a solid fan base that spans the Atlantic Ocean.
     
  Rodney Reed (Trumpet, Flugal Horn, Vocals, Horn Arrangements) grew up in Chicago surrounded by a musical family. By the end of grammar school, he had dabbled in guitar, keyboard, the Mellophone, and the Eb alto horn. This led to the French horn, gaining him accolades in several musical competitions and venues around Chicago and Illinois. In the best interest of the pop scene, Rodney switched to the trumpet, and the rest is history. Rodney has since developed into a versatile musician, songwriter, arranger, and vocalist. Playing pop, R&B, and jazz, he has toured in town, nationally, and internationally and has worked with well known musicians and national acts such as the Platters, Temptations, Pointer Sisters, Miami Brass, Pete Minger, Bruce Oscar, Nick Schneider, Peaches Statton, Tower of Power, Malo, Tito Nieves, Herman’s Hermits, and many others. Besides being an original member of The Business and having grown up with many of his band mates, he has become an integral part of The Business’ musical arrangements, original compositions, and vocal versatility of the band.
     
  Robert "RJ" Jordan (Vocals) was born in Chicago and began singing gospel in church.  At the age of 13, RJ formed his own band and began working the night club circuit.  He was soon discovered by Jesse Johnson (Morris Day and the Time) and was brought on as the lead singer of Da' Krash.  the band reached number 17 on the charts with their single "Wasn't I Good to Ya".  Robert's travels landed him in St. Louis where he fronted bands like Dr. Zhivegas and BOOM.  He eventually returned to Chicago to perform with the Roy Vombrack Orchestra and, now, The Business.
     
  Luis Gonzalez (Trumpet) is a classically trained French horn player. He began playing in his high school orchestra and continued his classical music studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago. While at UIC, Luis added the trumpet to his repertoire and his little brother Hector to his band.

Luis has traveled and played with many other talented musicians in his career among some of which are Ruben Blades, Tito Nieves, The Buckinghams, Ides of March, and Malo. In addition to being an original member of The Business, Luis has done studio work at Studio Media, Streeterville Sounds and RA Recording Studio.
     
  Wo Romanowski (pronounced Woah) (Saxophone, Congas, Lead Vocals) studied at the American Conservatory of Music and with legendary Chicago sax man, Joe Daley. Although he does not claim to be a Jazz musician, Wo played saxophone in the Malcolm X College Jazz Band where he rubbed shoulders with some of Earth, Wind and Fire’s finest horn players.

However, it is his passion for Latin music that has earned him a unique niche in Chicago’s vibrant Latin scene. Wo has been the Entertainment Director for Rumba Restaurant since its opening in 2002. Learning from and performing with many international and local Latin players has given Wo the knowledge and experience (specifically on the congas) that no university could offer.
     
  Rich Romanowski (Guitar, Flute), an original member of The Business, is a classically trained flutist who studied music education at UIC and Roosevelt University. Raised on the Beatles and James Brown, Rich’s true claim-to-fame is being a self-taught guitar player who learned the art of soul on the front stoop of his home in Wicker Park.

Rich has toured with several bands throughout his career and has done studio work for RA Studios and UTR Studios.

Besides being the true heart and soul of The Business, Rich has also been the director of his church’s choir for over 20 years.
         
  Nate Heffron (Saxaphone) began playing the sax at the age of 10. By the time he was 14 he was the leader of a 15-piece big band and a 5-piece jazz combo. He has learned from, performed and toured with many seasoned musicians from around the world such as Wynton Marsalis, Steve Turre and Fareed Haque. Nate later based himself out of Nashville and toured the southeast with the original funk/soul group SkyHi. It was after moving to Chicago that Nate joined The Business. Nate has a BA in Music Performance from NIU.
     
  Rob Collazo (Saxophone) A native of the Chicagoland area, Robert began studying music at the age of 9. Soon thereafter his father, a guitarist and veteran of the Chicago music scene, began including him in jam sessions and gigs, fueling an early passion for music. He continued through high school, earning an honorable mention soloist award at the prestigious Essentially Ellington competition.  Robert attended Northern Illinois University studying under Steve Duke, Ron Carter, Fareed Haque, and Art Davis. While a member of the internationally acclaimed NIU Jazz Ensemble, he got the opportunity to perform with jazz greats such as Claudio Roditi, Red Holloway, Eddie Henderson, Conrad Herwig, and Willie Pickens.  He has performed in the Lima, Peru Jazz Festival and the International Association for Jazz Education conference in New York.  Robert continued his musical education at Michigan State University where received his Master's in Jazz Studies, studying under Wes Anderson, Rodney Whitaker, and Diego Rivera. Robert has performed with the Patti Austin Big Band, the Gerald Wilson Big Band, Willie Clayton, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, the Rodney Whitaker Quintet, Frankie Vasquez, Dan Nimmer, Brother John Kattke, Dave Miller, and many others.
     
 
Nibandh Nadkarni (Keyboard) began his piano training at the age of 5 studying classical music with Nancy Malsack.  Growing up he performed in recitals, competitions and provided piano accompaniment for vocalists, instrumentalists and dancers.  He also picked up the cello along the way and performed in his high school orchestra.  Nibandh continued studying throughout college while working on his major at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Nibandh has dabbled in Ambient/Electronic, Progressive Rock/Fusion, Pop, Jazz, and Latin music.  He has also taught piano and recently completed the soundtrack for an independent film.  Nibandh is also a self-taught recording engineer.
     
  Durane Carter (Bass Guitar) is a Chicago native who began playing guitar at the age of 13. By the time he was 18, Durane had switched to the bass and was playing in venues all over the southern Illinois area. He also recorded several sessions for the legendary Leo “Man with the Red Vest” Cheers radio program out of East St. Louis, IL.

Before joining The Business, Durane was the bassist and band leader of High Velocity – a female vocal group which performed throughout the 90’s. During that time, Durane wrote the music to four songs on the High Velocity CD which was released in 2004. He was also a member of the jazz group Tailormade.
     
 
Keith Frazier (Drums) grew up on the west side of Chicago.  His love of music began at the age of 15 when he joined his high school Jazz & Marching Band.  He developed into a versatile musician playing various styles like R&B, Pop & Jazz.  He later moved to Minneapolis where he began playing with a variety of small Jazz groups.  Keith has played with artists such as Ray Silkman, JoJo Murray, Willie Davis, Cyrus Hayes and Gospel artist, Ed Montgomery.
     
  Nathan Rodriguez (Percussion) is a classically trained percussionist and a sought out musician from Chicago. He began playing Latin percussion at the age of 12 and was performing professionally by the age of 16. He has performed in concert bands, symphonic bands, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, Latin bands, and has also performed with Grammy Award-winning and Grammy Nominated artists. He has toured with many other talented musicians over the years such as Michael Stuart, Los Paquitos (Acosta/Guzman), Eddie Santiago, Cano Extremera, Luigi Texidor, Yolanda Rivera, and Alex De Castro to name a few. Nathan is currently completing his BA degree in Music Education at VanderCook College of Music.